About Inactive Members

Welcome to SamCERA’s inactive member portal. Depending upon your years of service credit, there are a number of options available to inactive members.

Who is an inactive member?

Inactive members are those members who meet all three of the following conditions:

left active service with a SamCERA employer;

left your contributions on deposit with SamCERA; and

have not yet retired from SamCERA.

Who is a deferred member?

Some inactive members are categorized as “deferred members.” Deferred members are also called vested members.

Deferred members of SamCERA have at least five years of SamCERA service credit, or a combination of SamCERA service credit and service credit from a reciprocal system (received either before or after your active SamCERA membership). Plan 3 members need ten years of years of service credit or a combination of SamCERA and reciprocal service credit to become vested.

As a deferred member, you have earned a lifetime monthly SamCERA benefit even if you left your employment before you were eligible to retire. You may receive your retirement allowance when you are eligible and ready to apply for retirement.

Retirement Eligibility for Inactive Members

To find out about your eligibility for retirement, read the section in the Guide to Your SamCERA Benefits entitled “Are you eligible to retire?” To confirm your SamCERA service credit and salary information, you can use MySamCERA.

For additional Information About Your Options

The information on SamCERA’s website and MySamCERA is general and is not considered a legally binding interpretation, enlargement or amendment of the applicable county and public employees’ retirement law provisions contained in the California Government Code and the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury regulations, or the regulations of the SamCERA Board of Retirement. The information within the site is limited and inadvertent errors can occur. Should there be an inconsistency between the website and the governing law, the law will govern. Click here for this site’s full Disclaimer and Terms of Use.